The incident forced the pilot to abort the flight and land at London City Airport.

A British journalist who happened to be on the plane at the time said passengers heard a loud bang as the plane took off.

“The bang made people jump and was alarming, then we sat there thinking this isn’t right, surely?” Cole Morton told The Telegraph. “Does the pilot know? “Does the pilot know? But we didn’t appear to be crashing.”

When he looked out the window, he was surprised to see a two-metre long section of the left wing dangling from the plane.

Confused passengers notified the crew who apparently alerted the pilot, Morton said. For a “tense few minutes” the passengers had no idea what was going on as the plane circled in the air and they waited for an official announcement, he said.

Morton was relieved to get back on the ground, but after the Avro RJ85 landed safely, “seriousness sunk in,” he said. Emergency services had been called and were waiting for the damaged plane to arrive. None of the 61 passengers were injured.

Morton uploaded a YouTube video that shows the section of the wing that came loose during the flight. Another passenger, Sean Caulfield, posted a video on Facebook.

CityJet issued a statement Thursday confirming the incident.

“The WX 281 flight had just taken off from London City Airport on its way to Florence when the cover of the operating mechanism on the wing became partially detached,” the company said.

“The crew followed their standard procedures and, after a discussion with CityJet Maintenance Control, decided to return to London City Airport. Air Traffic Control were notified and the aircraft returned making a normal approach and landing.”

The company booked the passengers on different flights, and everyone was able to depart within two hours, a spokeswoman said.